Russian authorities are looking to strengthen economic ties with Sub-Saharan Africa by increasing Russian business and trade, according to the annual executive meeting held by the Coordinating Committee for Economic Cooperation with Sub-Saharan Africa (AfroCom).

Georgi Petrov, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russian Federation (CCI), said due to the current geopolitical situation in the world and economic sanctions on the Russian economy, “Russian companies need to look for new markets”.

“The African continent, which is one of the fastest growing regions in the worlds with annual GDP growth of 5%, is of particular interest. In addition, opportunities arise due to South Africa being part of BRICS,” he said.

Petrov noted that Russia’s trade with Sub-Saharan Africa is only $3.2bn, whereas that of the European Union is €340bn, and China - at over $200bn.

He further said that the idea behind AfroCom is to “unite the efforts of Russian business in the African sector within the same structure”.

Established in 2009, AfroCom is designed for consolidating efforts of Russian business community, government and non-government institutions to step up economic activities on African markets and to support Russian export to Africa.

AfroCom works closely with governments, multilateral groups and business to improve the Russian-African trade and investments, and to raise the profile of Africa in the Russian business community.

With more than 90 member organizations, AfroCom serves as the bridge to the latest business opportunities in Africa and Russia.

“Given that without government support the non-oil export in Africa is virtually impossible, the role of Vnesheconombank, the Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance, and Russia’s Eximbank, are of particular importance,” said Petrov.

Alexey Tyupanov, CEO of the Russian Agency for Export Credit and Investment Insurance (EXIAR), shared his experience of working in Africa, mentioning implementation of energy and oil processing projects in Mozambique and Rwanda.

He also mentioned cooperation agreements with BRICS countries, as well as with the African Agency for Trade and Insurance (ATI).

Dmitry Golovanov, Chairman of the Board of the State Specialized Russian Export-Import Bank (Eximbank), said due to imposed sanctions, Africans refuse to transact in rubles (Russia’s currency), which present a major challenge.

He also pointed to lack of banking cooperation and competition from China and Japan, which provide lower lending rates.

To expand business in different markets, Golovanov proposed to organize cooperation between Russian and African companies with the help of the national export supporting organizations.

He mentioned Angola, Nigeria and South Africa as “expansion starting points”.

The annual member meeting of AfroCom was chaired by Petr Fradkov, First Deputy Chairman of Vnesheconombank (Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs).

Fradkov said that economic situation in many Sub-Saharan African countries has presented opportunities for potential Russian investors.

“Russian companies will be supported to bolster investments in Sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.